SACRAMENTO (May 29, 2014) – The California State Senate today rejected a bill that would have imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, acidizing and other controversial forms of oil and gas development.

The vote comes despite new polling released last week from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club that revealed more than two-thirds of Californians support a moratorium. The poll revealed that this sentiment held true across party lines, with the majority of Democrats (78 percent), Independents (74 percent) and Republicans (51 percent) all backing a time-out on fracking.

It also follow reports that federal estimates of recoverable oil in the state’s Monterey Shale formation were inflated by 96 percent, now predicting it holds about 32 days’ worth of accessible supplies.

“Californians have made it clear they do not want to rush ahead recklessly on fracking. Why risk the health of our children, contaminated drinking water, more air pollution, man-made earthquakes, and further strained water supplies in the middle of an extreme drought? We need a time-out on fracking to give the state time to do its due diligence and ensure the health of our residents is not squandered to satisfy oil industry greed.”

For more information

Damon Nagami elaborates on the importance of a statewide moratorium on his blog here:http://bit.ly/1kHW2qQ

San Benito County residents share their personal experience living with fracking in this video:http://bit.ly/1gxFQZx

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.